Float trips return to Waynesville

The sight of bobbing caravans of inflatable kayaks floating down Richland Creek through Waynesville will return on Saturday, May 6 when Whitewater of Waynesville, a.k.a. WOW, opens back up for its second season.

WOW started offering trips through Waynesville on Richland Creek last year. The 90-minute trip travels through a mix of urban and rural scenery on the mild 4.5-mile float down the creek. WOW drops paddlers off at the put-in and picks them up at the take out.

This year, WOW has expanded the options on Richland Creek. A Lake Junaluska option allows people to park at Lake Junaluska and walk up Richland Creek along a new greenway path to the WOW headquarters in the Waynesville Industrial Park and float back down Richland Creek and into Lake Junaluska. After paddling around Lake Junaluska, WOW will come pick up the inflatable kayaks.

Inflatable kayaking on the Pigeon River also is a new addition to WOW’s line-up of water fun this year. The inflatable kayaks are like personal rafts. The trip down the Pigeon is for more experienced kayakers. The four-miles trip has some class III rapids that include roller coaster waves and thrilling drops. Every group will have a trained guide.

Children who aren’t old enough to navigate their own inflatable kayak but want to float down the creek in their own contraption rather than ride in a double kayak with mom or dad can now float down Richland Creek in an inner tube. The special life jacket and inner tube system is suitable for children as young as 4, but they must be accompanied by an adult. The tubing trip is shorter, going only from the Waynesville Recreation Park to the WOW headquarters in the Waynesville Industrial Park off the Old Asheville Highway.

WOW also rents special fishing kayaks for trips on the Tuckaseegee, Pigeon and the French Broad.